HLS 480 prepares students to effectively enter the workforce via an internship or co-op experience. Students learn to prepare a resume and cover letter, practice interviewing, learn about how their personality matches job descriptions, search for internships, and develop an e-Portfolio that describes themselves, their professional aspirations, skills, etc. Professional ethics, decision making, organizational power, basic leadership and management principles and professionalism are discussed and illustrated.

This course includes a thorough coverage of the historical and statutory background of emergency management (EM) in the USA as well as the significant laws and policies that have defined and shaped the field, including HSPD 5, HSPD 8, the National Flood Insurance Act, and the Stafford Act. Topics include detailed coverage of FEMA's all hazards approach, the EM cycle, integrated EM, the incident command system, the National Incident Management System, emergency support functions, and risk communications and the homeland security exercise evaluation program (HSEEP) where students are introduced to the both discussion and operations-based exercises and strategies for evaluating exercises. This course culminates with each student writing and formally presenting an integrated emergency management plan.

This course is an overview of key legal, policy, and ethical issues in the context of Homeland Security policy and practice. Students examine legal concepts regarding constitutional rights of individuals, legal process, access to courts, the law of war, and national security principles as they relate to homeland security legislation and policy initiatives. Legal principles of due process, habeas corpus, search and seizure. Compulsory process, and international agreements are explored in greater depth. The law of war will be examined in the context of preemptive war and the current National Security Strategy, the status of combatants and detention, Elements of national security law, intelligence collection and sharing, the Patriot Act, and military-civilian relations, etc.

Students will learn how environmental issues may give rise to socio-political instability around the world which can become threats to US national/homeland security. This course will explore how U.S. domestic and foreign policy, and ultimately, U.S. national security, can be impacted by emergent threats to nations from environmental health issues, climate change, deforestation, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and natural resource shortages caused by rapid industrialization, population growth, and urbanization in less developed countries. In a seminar format, students and faculty will cover a variety of readings and discuss their conclusions and students will have the opportunity to lead class discussions on assigned readings.